honoria in ciberspazio

gallery + reflections

Class Problem:There is a trend in this class to state that your drawings are not up to your expectations. OK, you've said it. Too many times. Now say something else! This negative attitude is not professional, not productive, and is causing communications to bog down in the group.

****Do not write any negative statements about yourself or your drawings for the rest of the semester. NONE!****Solution: Here are some alternative types of statements...

1. Identify specific strengths and weaknesses in your drawing. You may discuss a weakness in an analytical, problem-solving manner without putting yourself down.

For example: The foreshortening in the thigh on this figure created a problem for me. I tried to draw the forms of the thigh using lines but that didn't seem to work. I think that if I made the back of the thigh darker and the kneecap had a highlight the leg would have more of a sense of coming forward. I will try that in the next seated figure I draw. Maybe I should also shade the area at the back of the figure to make more space in the drawing.

2. Write about what you learned about the form you are drawing or what materials you are drawing with.

For example: I used charcoal for the first time and boy, it was a mess. It got all over the new white shoes I bought last week. However, the dust that did stay on the paper was really fun to play with. I used my hands to rub it into the paper to make a background tone. Then I used my eraser to pull out the light areas. Then I used the really dark charcoal (the compressed kind) to make the contour lines. I think the next time I use charcoal I will work outside for the first steps until I get to the detailed last phase.

3. Write about what resources helped you figure out an approach to the drawing.

For example: I read about shading the head like an egg in Basic Figure Drawing Techniques but then my head looked too round. I found that the head in the Structure section of the book on page 73 gave me a much stronger way to draw the head.

4. Write about what you plan to try in the next drawing that you learned from this drawing.

For example: I feel that this figure seems flat. I've been looking at other drawings online and would like to try some different kinds of background in my next drawings. Background tones seem to help the figure have more depth on the page. I might try some of the shading and erasing techniques on page 8 of Basic Figure Drawing Techniques where the shading and the background are part of the same process.